Monday 29 April 2013

OOTD: Jack Daniels Anyone?



Jack Daniels Vest* | omgfashion.co.uk Black Jeans* | omgfashion.co.uk Black Bandeau | Penneys

I apologise in advance for the absolutely hideous photo, the moody face on me!
I had completely forgotten to take a photo of this outfit and was about to run out to the door to go to town with one of my friends for lunch and so I had to take it as quickly as I could in the kitchen. I wasn't prepared for the camera timer hahaha. I couldn't even get a full length. Basically I was just wearing my black wedge boots that I wear in almost all of my OOTD posts BECAUSE I'M OBSESSED WITH THEM. 
I was so sad when I had to put a jacket on and basically cover up this top, I love it so much, damn you Irish weather. I can't wait until summer when I can wear it without a jacket with a bandeau top underneath.

Emma xo

Sunday 28 April 2013

Weekly Update #3: Spend Spend Spend, Shots Shots Shots





So I think this is just going to be a weekend update as I don't want it to be too long and my week was quite boring!
I went for lunch on Saturday with my friend Caron that I hadn't seen in a while, we walked up all the hills in my town (please tell me thats 9326302957395 calories burned??) to get to the hairdressers as I WAS GETTING THE CHOP. Yep, I got quite a bit cut off my hair. To be honest, as much as I liked it long, it was really gettting on my nerves. It was fine when it was curled but when it was straight it just hung there flat and just got in the way. I also had quite a few splits ends and I just thought it was time for the snip. I really like it though, Its still long, the only way I can describe it is if you look at the photo above, I got it cut up to about the top of the D in Daniels but its not a hassle anymore, it also looks a lot healthier and sleeker! After I got home and Caron had left I ended up going BACK into town with my Mam and of course I ended up spending! I bought a gorgeouuusssss bag which I will show in a future post.

Last night I went out and lets just say I'm not feeling too great today! I'm not going to go into too much detail about THAT. I don't think doing 3 shots one after the other was a good idea. Although my friend Roisin and I managed to score 2 free drinks each ;) I ended up wearing my 12 year old sisters dress. Im surprised I fit my boobs into it as it was a 12-13 years old size. Not sure what 12 to 13 year olds they were thinking of when they made the dress! Only for it was a skater style dress I know for a fact a I would never have gotten my ass into it. I wish I'd taken a photo as its a really nice dress too!

I start work on Tuesday which I am very excited about and I'm looking forward to going shopping with one of my very good friends Lisa during the week.. I'm going to clear my whole wardrobe out tomorrow and get rid of anything I haven't worn in months (with the exception of Summer clothes of course, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather this Summer) so if I do pick up anything nice I can have room for it!

I'm not sure how everyone feels about these personal posts, I personally love being nosey and reading all about what everyones up to, but I didn't want to go into too much detail in this as I thought you all might get bored.
Anyway I hope you all had a lovely week and weekend!

Emma xo

Neon Striped Nail Tutorial *GUEST POST*


Morning everyone! (or afternoon..or night depending on when you're reading this!)
So this weeks guest poster is Maria from So Marvellous. Seriously this girl is amazing at nails, I mean look at the photos below! WOULD YA LOOK AT THAT? WOULD YA JUST LOOK AT IT! (Thanks Ayydubs for getting me into saying that phrase, I think I'm driving everyone mad saying it!

Anyway, I'm just going to let Maria get straight into the post!

*********************

Hi! I’m Maria from So Marvellous (http://somarvellous.blogspot.com) and I’m very excited to do a guest post for Emma’s blog, especially since that’s my first guest post ever! Usually I post nail polish swatches or nail art on my blog, but for such an occasion I wanted to create something a bit more special, so this post combines both!
I don’t know about you, but I’m really happy that neon is again a huge trend this spring. I love neons and just can’t get enough of them! For a while I’ve wanted to do a manicure using several neon colours, though I couldn’t come up with a good idea. Then I bought this  colourful bracelet and I immediately knew what I had to do:)


How I did it:

Saturday 27 April 2013

Dainty Doll Lipstick in Baby Love (006)


In a previous post I mentioned that CaraPharmacy.com had a huge sale including loads of Dainty Doll products. One of the items I got was this lipstick. I don't have a proper nude lipstick so I decided to try the shade 'Baby Love' (anyone else think of that Nicole Sherzinger song????). Plus it was only €1.50! Bargain!




Friday 26 April 2013

Essie - Cute As A Button




LEFT- Without Flash RIGHT - With Flash




Cute As A Button is on the left in the above photo.

Living in a small town in Ireland it's almost impossible to get your hands on Essie nail polish. I'd considered ordering from Fragrance Direct before but to be honest, I didn't like any of the colours. I only had 1 other Essie polish that I'd gotten in a giveaway from a Canadian blogger.
So, you wouldn't believe how excited I was when I saw Sam McCauleys Chemist tweet that they were going to be stocking Essie in a selection of their branches, MY TOWN BEING ONE OF THEM!
The next day, I was in there like swimwear.
The minute I stood in front of the Essie stand it was like the skies opened, the sun shone down and angels started to sing 'AHHHHHHHH' (I may be exaggerating..)

I swatched 5 different colours on each nail. I was going to be good and just get one as at €9.99 they aren't cheap but of course my Mam the enabled was like '€9.99 that's not bad.. sure get two!'' So of course I ended up buying two!

As for the quality, as usual it was great, I find Essie polishes dry extremely fast! I think I'm going to pick up a base and top coat next as my current base coat is all gone and the Essence 'gel like' top coat takes forever to dry!

If you have any favourite colours let me know so I can swatch them the next day I'm at the stand!



Wednesday 24 April 2013

Garnier 2 in 1 Makeup Remover



For the first time ever, I have no idea how to start this post. 
Well.. thats weird.
Lets just be awkward and start straight into it.

2 in 1 refers to the fact that this makeup remover is both an oil based and a water based remover. 


The top blue colour is the oil based remover and the clear liquid is the water based remover. To use, you basically shake the bottle to mix them together and squirt it onto a cotton pad. It doesn't feel oily, it just feels like a regular liquid makeup remover.

Because of the oil, this does a really good job removing eye makeup, particularly waterproof mascara. Its literally a life saver for me at night. Usually I have to scrub at my eyes for ages until I give up and go to bed with mascara and eyeliner still on my eyes. AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR SCRUBBING. 

The one negative thing I do have to say is it does leave a greasy oil film on your face after using it. I just use a cotton pad soaked in toner to remove it so its alllll goooood. 

It is a really good makeup remover is you wear a lot of eye makeup and I probably will get another bottle when this ones all gone.

Whats your go to makeup remover??


Tuesday 23 April 2013

30 Ways to Save £1


Hello so I've got a different type of post for you all today. We all love to save a few pound so I've put together a list of 30 ways to save £1 (or more, or a little under). The lovely people are MoneySupermarket.com are giving all bloggers a chance to submit their 30 Ways to Save a £1. For every tip you share, you get £1! Nice one huh? You find out more info here.

1. If you're shopping online, check online to see if there are any discounts codes available. You'd be surprised at how much you could save!
2. Every week, have a clean out of your purse, put any coins into a jar, after a while your jar will start to fill up! 
3. If you have any old phones you dont need send them to envirophone!
4. If you have any old cds/dvds etc send them to Music Magpie. They're no use to you sitting around the house unused.
5. If you find yourself stopping off to grab a coffee on the way to school/work, try bringing your own from home in a reuseable travel mug. Those few pounds add up!
6. Always bring your own lunch from home to school or work. A lot of the time its healthier AND cheaper. Win win!
7. If you're a student, check out if you're eligible for a student discount. Many stores offer them. All you need is a student card.
8. Instead of buying a new wardrobe, root through your own and try DIYing and customising old clothes. There are a million helpful tutorials on youtube!
9. Have a root through your dads closet! Cut the sleeves off one of his old baggy t shirts and make it into a muscle vest top!
10. Make a list of everything you spend money on each week. Cut anything that you really can't live without. Be brutal.
11. Instead of always having nights out, have nights in with your friends. Each of you could bring a snack (microwave popcorn, chocolate, sweets!) and pop in a DVD. Way more fun than a night out and generally will cost less!
12. Make a list before going grocery shopping with the estimated cost of each item. ONLY bring enough cash to cover the cost of those items (maybe an extra fiver just in case you guessed wrong!). This will stop you throwing random items into your trolley!
13. Thrawl eBay and local charity shops. You never know what you'll find and it can't hurt to try!
14. Skip the hairdressers and dye your hair at home (unless you're going blonde.. do..not...do...that.)
15. Fill up water bottles with tap water and pop in the fridge to chill instead of buying bottled water. 
16. Make sure your TV isn't left on standby.
17. Plug out any electrical items from the socket. Especially phone chargers. Even if your phone is not attached to the end it still rises your electricity bill!
18. Don't be afraid to bargain at a car boot sale. Chances are, that seller wants the item gone that day so you might as well chance your arm! 
19. Don't be attracted to huge SALE signs on items in the supermarket. Just because its on sale doesn't mean you need it. If you weren't going to buy it in the first place, don't. You're just throwing away money because its on sale.
20. Be wary of 3 for 2 sales. If you were only going to pick up one item. Only get the one. Don't double the cost for yourself to get the extra free item. Its not worth the cost. 
21. eBay is a great place to pick up phone cases for a couple of pounds compared to the £15 in shops!
22. Try shopping in store rather than online if you can. You avoid shipping costs and also the costs of sending the item back if it didn't fit properly. In store, you can try it on.
23. Always ask for a sample if you're thinking of buying something. Don't be afraid of the sales assistants. Its their job to ASSIST you. Be brave and explain you wanted to try a particular product but weren't sure how your skin would react with it and ask if you could have a sample to try at home.
24. When shopping, watch your basket. Even though you might think 'oh everything is so cheap'. All those cheap items add up.  
25. Check reviews online from your favourite bloggers (hint hint ;)) before buying a product. 
26. If you have old gold jewellery at home that is useless to you, try places like cash for gold.
27. Have a wardrobe clear out and head to a car boot sale. If getting up early isn't your thing, hop onto eBay and sell sell sell!
28. If you smoke, STOP IT. The amount of money you could save on cigarettes is crazy. 
29. If an item of clothing has a small stain or something that you could easily fix at home, don't be afraid to ask the sales assistant if you could possibly get a discount. 
30. Use MoneySupermarket to compare prices!



Monday 22 April 2013

American Flag Makeup Look ft Violent Lips


Yesterday, you may have seen the guest post I posted from the lovely Sammie from LittleBlondeLife. On the same day, she posted a guest post from me on her blog. 
I decided to share that post on here too. Make sure to go check out Sammies blog though too!

So a few days ago, I won a set of Violent Lips transfers from the company on twitter. I chose the  American flag. I decided to try and do a makeup look featuring these transfers.

This was my inspiration:



Also I've been OBSESSED with Lana Del Reys song National Anthem lately so I just had to do this makeup look! Seriously I've listened to it over 100 times, I've also tweeted the lyrics over and over again. I have a problem I know..
Each violent lips comes with 3 transfers in a pack.



To use, you just place them against your lips, and trim to fit. They're very large so they fit all lips sizes. You then just remove the plastic, place it on your lips and press against the paper back using wet cotton. Similar to how you'd apply those tattoos you'd get as a child! 
They are quite tricky to apply so mine were a bit of a mess.. oops. I was home alone when I was doing these, so I was absolutely TERRIFIED someone would knock the door and I'd have to answer like this! 



Because my lips were a bit.. BAM! I wanted to keep my eyes simple, I just did a simple cat liner flick on top and then used a white, red and blue shadow on the bottom lash line. I do wish I'd gone a bit crazier on the eyes but 3 transfers came in the pack so I might try this makeup again, except this time go really crazy on the eye shadow! I might try to recreate the look I showed in the first photo!
I think this would be fun for something like Halloween/fancy dress or 4th of July if you live in the US. I know here in Ireland, on St Patricks Day, people tend to go a bit crazy and draw Irish flags on their faces! 


Oh and if you're interested in having a look at the violent lips. You can go to their website, they have soooooo many differrent transfers, animal prints, all kinds of country flags, glitter transfers and so many more! Below is just a card that came in my pack showing a few different transfers available. They supposedly last up to 8 hours, but I can't tell you if thats true as I took it off immediately after taking photos. It did start to crack after a few minutes though.





I hope you all enjoyed this crazy look. I know its not very 'wearable' but I enjoy looking at other bloggers/makeup aritsts crazy makeup looks! 




Sunday 21 April 2013

Weekly Update #2 - New Job, Nail Polish & 8am Wake Up Calls From 4 Year Olds



I'm back with another weekly update! I'm not quite sure what to call these though!
So this has been quite an exciting week for me (you'll all probably find it extremely boring though!)

Last Monday I had a job interview in a local salon. I was a little nervous but very excited. 
Its been quite hard for me to find a job since finishing college last June. There are literally NO jobs in my county. Especially for a beauty therapist. So to say I wanted this was an understatement.

After I'd finished the interview, they told me that they were holding a second interview, which would be practical (doing treatments) and would let me know if they wanted me to come back in for that. 
Long story short, I got the second interview and then finally the job. So I am SOOOO HAPPY.
I literally screamed the house down after they rang to tell me.

I start at the end of April/start of May so I'm very excited about that. I honestly love what I do (beauty therapy) and wouldn't change it for the world. I think thats a good thing too. Enjoying your job. I can't imagine waking up in the morning dreading going to work..

Vodka Milkshake Recipe - GUEST POST ft LittleBlondeLife.com


Hey guys so I decided to start featuring some guest bloggers on here lately, lets be honest, you're probably all sick of seeing my face and reading my words so it will be nice to introduce some fresh content. Also, its a great way for you to discover new, amazing bloggers! 
Today, we have the gorgeous and very lovely Sammie from Little Blonde Life
Now I'm not going to lie I myself am absolutely shit (oops naughty) at any kind of recipes so I was majorly excited when I saw Sammie was posting a recipe, I was even more excited when I saw it included vodka. 
I'm going to shut up now and let Sammie get on with getting us all absolutely pissed! WOOOHOOO.
********************************

Hello Emma's Lovely readers, Emma has kindly given me chance to do a guest post on her blog. Allow me to introduce myself I'm Sammie from Little Blonde Life. Normally I have no problem conjuring up blog posts but as this is my first guest  post I was a little unsure what I should blog about. As big bang theory was on the TV in the background I found my bloggers block unlocked by the one and only Sheldon Cooper and thought the best way I could introduce myself to you guys was to offer you a hot beverage. Well unfortunately I was all out of hot beverages so instead i have made you guys a vodka milkshake. (I suppose I could of just made a milkshake, but c'mon it is Friday)

To make:

Saturday 20 April 2013

NOTD: Ciate Pocket Money



Sorry for the bad photo but it was dark and I had to take the photo as I was taking the polish off afterwards for an interview. Anyway, I got this polish free in Marie Claire, I sent my mother out (I was sick) specifically to get the magazine for the polish, I never usually read Marie Claire! You could choose between this dusty pink shade called Pocket Money or a Gold shade (I can't remember the name).
I was excited to try it as I've never tried Ciate before but I've seen and heard good things.. 
I'm not sure how I feel about this shade. I'm not sure I like the colour to be honest. You need at least 3 coats for it to be opaque. I had 2 on and I could still just see the white tips of my nails through it. 

So I'm a little meeh about the shade. Maybe it will grow on me??
What do you think? Do you think its a bit ugly haha?



Friday 19 April 2013

DaisyStreet.co.uk Wishlist




Hey guys so I don't know about you but when I'm bored, I do some online window shopping on my favourite clothing websites. 
I was browsing the DaisyStreet.co.uk website and found these 3 items that I reaally want. Particularly the dress. I've been going on about how much I love this dress for the last few days. 
I would get it but I really just don't have the money right now. Fingers crossed they still have it in the next few weeks (also cross your fingers I come into some cha ching).
Although if some rich man out there wants to treat me I wouldn't be opposed ;)... *this is where you all stare blankly* yeah I don't think that will happen either.

I know I've only recently done a wishlist, although the other one was a giveaway entry, but I think they're fun and I personally love seeing what other people are lusting after.
Whats your favourite online clothing website? I'll add it to my window shopping list ;)


Thursday 18 April 2013

eBay Jewellery Haul


Yes Im back with yet ANOTHER eBay jewellery haul.
I picked up a few more bits so I thought I'd share them as I thought they were nice pieces for the price!


€1.44 with free shipping
So the first item I picked up, I had actually seen on another jewellery website and I wanted it so much but it was a lot more expensive than on eBay. I just happened to spot it while browsing eBay and had to get it!
Its available in 3 colours, this 'rose red', 'lake blue' and orange. 
I definitely want to get the lake blue as well!
Please excuse the atrocious outfit, obviously it doesn't go with it but I just wanted to show you the length.



€1.44 with free shipping
The next item I ordered was this gold arrow bangle. I love that this is adjustable so will fit anyone, I find bangle usually fall right off my arm as I have small wrists and hands. 


€1.13 with free shipping
I also picked up the above bracelet in silver as I couldn't choose between the two. I bought them from different sellers as the one I bought the gold from didn't have the silver in stock. Unfortunately the silver came broken. I think the glue just wasn't very strong or something. I've contacted the seller and they've said they would refund my money but who knows if they actually will. 


So thats everything I bought this time! 


Wednesday 17 April 2013

W7 Camoflague Concealor Palette Review/Swatches


I don't usually like doing negative reviews but, I paid for this product and its just...basically crap. 
I spotted it while browsing the CaraPharmacy.com website while they were having a beauty sale. I got a bit click happy adding products to my basket and only added this as it was only about €2.50. 

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Chi Chi Wishlist



hey guys so I wanted to share my favourite items from the Chi Chi website (link here).

I think the freira would look good with my dark hair, and everyone needs a red dress!
I love the design on this jacinta dress, although I'd probably tuck in the extra strap to change it up a little. 
I looovee the lace design on the top of this pabla dress. I think its such a pretty feminine girly dress! 
I decided to change it up and choose an evening dress also! I love the colour of this yesenia dress! It would be gorgeous for a more formal event!

etailpr are holding a contest where you pick your favourites from Chi Chi and write a post to be in with the chance to win a £200 voucher for Chi Chi. One of your picks could be yours! You can read more about the contest here.

I hope you liked my picks and if you do a post please leave a link below so I can see YOUR picks :) 



IM BACK! Weekly Update #1


Hey guys, so most of you may know I've been taking a break due to blogger deciding to not publish my new posts to my followers reading list. I don't think its back working yet but I don't care, I couldn't stay away any longer :D

So I had literally the worst week and a half of my life. 
I have never been so ill in all my life. I started off with an eye infection. I got drops from the doctor and just went downhill from there. I ended up with a non stop headache for like 3 days, nausea, a fever/chills, weakness, a throat infection and pain in my limbs along with my persistant eye infection. I finally went to the doctor after a couple of days spent unable to get out of bed. He prescribed stronger eye drops for my eye but he had no idea what else was wrong with me. He seemed a little worried as I'm rarely sick and prescribed 2 different antibiotics and painkillers to try and get rid of my illness. He said if I did not see any improvement after taking all the pills for 24 hours then he was sending me to the hospital. 
I must have looked pretty horrendous as when I went into the pharmacy afterwards to pick up my prescription the chemist took one look at me and said 'Woman down!! You're not well at all are you?'. 
Thankfully after a couple of hours I felt an improvement. I actually managed to get out of bed and lay on the sofa with a big snuggly duvet. I still had a slight headache but eventually after another few days of it, it wore off!

Today is the first day since I've gotten the eye infection over a week and a half ago that I've worn my contacts and did my makeup fully. I finally feel like me again. Yaay. 

I think I'm going to do these weekly updates as I love just talking to you all, unfortuantely this week hasn't been eventful at all as I've been ill! I'll try to include some photos next time!

I hope you all had a good week regardless!



Wednesday 10 April 2013

Win a Kindle Fire HD

Hey guys so I wanted to share this giveaway with you all. You could win a Kindle Fire HD! All you have to do is enter using the rafflecopter widget at the end of this post! Its open worldwide so anyone can enter. 

All the information about the giveaway and the reason behind it is below:


Saturday 6 April 2013

Im Taking A Break From Blogging


Heellooo so, I've decided to take a little break from blogging. Mainly because since changing my URL my new posts haven't been showing up on followers reading lists. No point posting if no one can see them right?
Another blogger said this happened to her but it fixed itself after about 2 weeks.
I'll come back in a week and see if its fixed itself, if not it'll be another week after that.

I'll still be writing new posts, I'll just save them as drafts until blogger sorts itself out. Its extremely upsetting and frustrating when you can't seem to get any help or answers from blogger itself. Especially since they do not provide an email address where you can speak directly to a tech employee.
I was so excited about the new name/url/design and the new posts that I was going to be introducing.

I'll be back in a week or two.


Friday 5 April 2013

OOTD: In The Navy & Update


I'm so awkward when taking OOTD pictures I never know what to do. Hashtag not a model.

Hey guys, so this outfit is actually from like.. 

efxo? What??? Blog Makeover??!


Hellloooo guys! So, incase you haven't noticed, my blog has gone through a bit of a makeover. 
New name, new url, new design.

The reason for this is I felt like too many people had the same blog name as me and I wanted something a bit different. All The Pretty Things was the first thing that came into my head when I made the blog so I was only really using it until I could come up with a name myself. Months later, and I've finally managed to come up with one!

So what is efxo?
Its actually quite simple its laughable. E & F are my initials and xo is just..xo.
I'M SO ORIGINAL (not).
Anyway I just feel like this fits the blog better.
As for the URL, well efxo.blogspot.com was taken so I ended up just going with my name.

The content will stay pretty much the same but I am excited to start introducing more variety into the blog. I feel like its started to get a little boring. 

So, to sum up, I'm quite excited about the things to come and I hope you all like the new name and aren't too confused by it all!